Connecticut Department of Public Safety Division …

1 For Pre-decisional Purposes Only ASCLD/LAB-International Full Assessment Report Page 1 of 47 Connecticut Department of Public Safety Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory October 5, 2011 ASCLD/LAB-International Full Assessment Report Connecticut Department of Public Safety Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory Meriden, Connecticut PART 1 GENERAL INFORMATION INTRODUCTION This is the ASCLD/LAB-International Full Assessment Report of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety - Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory .

2 The on-site assessment was conducted during the period September 13-16, 2011. The ASCLD/LAB-International assessment team consisted of the following members: Lead Assessor: Robert Gonsowski - Staff Inspector, ASCLD/LAB / Herrin, Illinois Technical Assessors: Jagjeet Bains - New York Police laboratory / Jamaica, New York Thomas W. Barnes - Oregon State Police / Clackamas, Oregon John J. Bourke - Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office / San Jose, California Julie Doerr - California Department of Justice / Redding, California Chris Heartsill - Dallas County Southwestern Institute of forensic Sciences / Dallas, Texas George W.

3 Hertel Jr. - Miami-Dade Police Department forensic services Bureau / Doral, Florida Jack Laird - Wyndham forensic Group Inc. / Guelph, Ontario, Canada Dale Gene Linden - FBI Digital Evidence laboratory (Retired) / Manassas, Virginia Loren Mercer - laboratory Management System services , LLC / Pocatello, Idaho Robyn Ragsdale - Florida Department of Law Enforcement / Tampa, Florida Alyson E. Saadi - Louisiana State Police Crime laboratory / Baton Rouge, Louisiana Karla K. Taylor - Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department / Los Angeles, California Discipline Expert: A.

4 Dwayne Winston LabCorp / Research Triangle Park, North Carolina For Pre-decisional Purposes Only ASCLD/LAB-International Full Assessment Report Page 2 of 47 Connecticut Department of Public Safety Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory October 5, 2011 OBJECTIVES OF ASSESSMENT The assessment was conducted to assess the management and technical operations of the laboratory in accordance with the accreditation requirements specified below, and to report the findings of the assessment in a fair and impartial manner to the laboratory and to the ASCLD/LAB Board of Directors for the purpose of accreditation in accordance with the scope of the assessment.

5 ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS The assessment was performed using the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005; the ASCLD/LAB-International Supplemental Requirements for Testing Laboratories (2011); the Quality Assurance Standards for forensic DNA Testing Laboratories (2011); the Quality Assurance Standards for forensic DNA Databasing Laboratories (2011) and the laboratory s own documented management system. SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT The laboratory is seeking accreditation in and was assessed in the following areas.

6 Field forensic Science Testing Discipline(s) Categories of Testing Drug Chemistry Controlled Substances Quantitative Analysis General Chemical Testing Toxicology Human Performance forensic Toxicology Biology DNA-Nuclear DNA-Mitochondrial Body Fluid Identification Individual Characteristic Database Trace Evidence Paint Fiber and Textiles Fire Debris Gunshot Residue (elemental analysis) Hair General Physical and Chemical Analysis For Pre-decisional Purposes Only ASCLD/LAB-International Full Assessment Report Page 3 of 47 Connecticut Department of Public Safety Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory October 5.

7 2011 Latent Prints Latent Print Processing Latent Print Comparisons Firearms/Toolmarks Firearms Toolmarks Questioned Documents Document Examination Digital and Multimedia Evidence Computer Forensics Video Analysis Audio Analysis Image Analysis Other Impression Evidence (Footwear/Tires) Considered a part of the Questioned Documents discipline Note: The laboratory s original application included the Explosives category of testing in the Trace Evidence discipline. However, the scope of the assessment was changed due to insufficient casework.

8 Therefore, Explosives was not included as a category of testing during this assessment. laboratory OVERVIEW The Connecticut Department of Public Safety - Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory is a state government laboratory that provides services and assistance to law enforcement agencies throughout Connecticut . The laboratory is located at 278 Colony Street, Meriden, Connecticut . Mr. Kenneth Zercie is the laboratory director and, at the time of the assessment, the laboratory had a staff of 58 proficiency tested personnel and 13 non-proficiency tested personnel.

9 ASSESSMENT TEAM FINDINGS The laboratory was found to be in conformance with all ASCLD/LAB-International accreditation requirements except for those requirements cited in Part 2 of this report, or the assessment team found that the requirement was not applicable to the operations of this program. Each requirement for which the assessment team found the laboratory to not be in total conformance was marked No. A Preliminary Assessment Report, listing specific nonconformities cited by the assessment team, was provided at the on-site, closing meeting.

10 For Pre-decisional Purposes Only ASCLD/LAB-International Full Assessment Report Page 4 of 47 Connecticut Department of Public Safety Division of scientific services forensic Science laboratory October 5, 2011 COMMENTS Comments include recommendations, suggestions, or other observations documented by the assessment team that are not supported by sufficient objective evidence of non-compliance. The laboratory is not required to respond to comments. The following comment(s) were documented by the assessment team during the on-site assessment: GL-14 specifically addresses the identification and documentation for re-training of analysts.